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Michael Barnes wrote: Digression- I can't believe anyone took American Sniper seriously. That film is the cinematic equivalent of Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American". Total jingoistic cheese. I didn't finish watching it, which is rare for me when I sit down to watch a highly regarded, well-reviewed film. I probably liked it less than Birdman, and that's saying something.
I'll take a SWAG here and say you've never served in the military or in Iraq, so unless you instruct me otherwise I'll take Chris Kyles' account of the events over there over yours, Barnes. I ain't saying American Sniper is the best movie ever but the central theme I took away from it was that war changes people irrevocably and usually not for the best. The only reason that dude kept going back was to watch the backs of his brothers in arms, not to go kill tangos for MERCUH.
A jury of Kyle's peers found him to be guilty of defamation (i.e. lying about somebody), and his estate was ordered to pay a couple of million dollars to Jesse Ventura. Kyle himself was murdered by mentally ill veteran who Kyle probably shouldn't have invited to a shooting range. I suppose that supports the movie's theme about war changing people for the worse. While I appreciate Kyle's service on behalf of our country, I'm not especially interested in his account of anything.
Michael Barnes wrote: What a profound message that I have never seen in any war film ever.
Probably the biggest thing that differentiates it is how it is based on the true events (as he tells them) of one soldier's life. That, and the tragic ending.
I bet if you would have finished it, you would have liked it more than Birdman -- for no other reason than there are not very many highly regarded movies that are worse than Birdman.
Watched Paranorman last night. What a terrific little film.
Paranorman is about a young boy who can speak with dead people. He is a misfit that loves monster movies, but doesn't have many friends. Eventually he gets tangled up in some undead curse and zombies begin to rise from their graves. I don't want to say too much about it because discovering everything in this film is an absolute treat. The film deliberately screws with the audiences assumptions and anticipation...nothing ever goes the way you think it will. Paranorman is also surprisingly touching and even a tad poignant at times. It's overarching themes are powerful and it's has a great message for kids, teens and well, people of all ages. I actually don't think this is a movie many kids will love. It can be kind of slow and there are period where a child might become bored. I'm not sure though. The ending might be a little intense/scary as well. The film itself looks GORGEOUS. It' was created by Laika, the stop motion wizards behind the wonderful Coraline. I loved soaking in every scene of this movie. It's like a moving piece of art.
I was floored by how much I loved this film. I haven't been this enamored with a children's film that's not a children's film since Rango.
I watched Bordello of Blood. The Tales from the Crypt movie starring Dennis Miller. Lots of tits&ass and gore and a few laughs. Something nostalgiac about the movie as a whole though other than having seen it before. Was probably derivative at its time, but now they just don't make them like this.
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With this high demand in horror properties for TV shows, I'd love to see a revival of HBO's Tales from the Crypt. At the very least I'd love for them to make a few more movies like Demon Knight or Bordello. I agree with Mad Dog in regards to Bordello...when it came out it was a derivative effort. Now they don't make films like that. I know Both Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood are getting Scream Factory Blu Ray Releases next week. Which means they will be packed with extras and the picture quality should be pretty damn good. I'll probably pick them both up.
Last night I watched Mosquito. God damn what an awful, terrible, shitty film. Here is the plot: An alien spacecraft crash lands in a swamp. Mosquito's suck the blood of the alien carcass and subsequently grow into GIANT mosquitoes. Said giant mosquitoes terrorize a camp ground and then a small group of survivors. The film has horrible acting, a plodding pace and lots of horror cliches. However, every cent of the budget went into the practical effects of the giant mosquitoes...and they're kind of awesome. The kills are over the top. There is one particular scene including a pair of eyeballs that is pretty hilarious. The only person I recognized was horror icon, Gunnar Hansen - the original Leatherface. At one point he is brandishing a chainsaw and says, "I haven't handled one of these in 20 years...it feels good". Christ. I watched this by myself and that was a mistake. This is the type of film that begs to be watched with a rowdy group with lots of beers. The laugh factor is high for something like that.
I remember when I was about 11 or 12 I used to see the VHS of this film at my local video rental store and the pictures on the back of it always freaked me out. Giant insects always got under my skin. Funny that it took me like 20 years to finally watch this one.
My son said that The Thing was creepy and gross, but it didn't scare him. I believe him based on the lack of bedtime drama the night we watched it.
Finding horror films to watch with both of my sons - the younger one being 7 - is tricky, but so far this month we've watched The Monster Squad, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Abominable, Gremlins, and last night was Silver Bullet. I was surprised that one of the moments that scared my sons the most was when Corey Haim was stuck in the abandoned covered bridge and the priest followed him inside on foot.
I think they both like Gremlins well enough and none of us really liked The Monster Squad or Abominable. Abominable is basically Bigfoot meets Rear Window starring the guy who played Lloyd Braun on Seinfeld. I'd seen it once before and completely forgot that there was a short, surprise nude shower scene that my sons declared "gross," and a little more gore than I remembered. It wasn't really worth watching again and the movie is really hampered by the fact that Bigfoot looks too much like Jack Elam to be scary.
Egg Shen wrote: With this high demand in horror properties for TV shows, I'd love to see a revival of HBO's Tales from the Crypt. At the very least I'd love for them to make a few more movies like Demon Knight or Bordello. I agree with Mad Dog in regards to Bordello...when it came out it was a derivative effort. Now they don't make films like that. I know Both Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood are getting Scream Factory Blu Ray Releases next week. Which means they will be packed with extras and the picture quality should be pretty damn good. I'll probably pick them both up.
Last night I watched Mosquito. God damn what an awful, terrible, shitty film. Here is the plot: An alien spacecraft crash lands in a swamp. Mosquito's suck the blood of the alien carcass and subsequently grow into GIANT mosquitoes. Said giant mosquitoes terrorize a camp ground and then a small group of survivors. The film has horrible acting, a plodding pace and lots of horror cliches. However, every cent of the budget went into the practical effects of the giant mosquitoes...and they're kind of awesome. The kills are over the top. There is one particular scene including a pair of eyeballs that is pretty hilarious. The only person I recognized was horror icon, Gunnar Hansen - the original Leatherface. At one point he is brandishing a chainsaw and says, "I haven't handled one of these in 20 years...it feels good". Christ. I watched this by myself and that was a mistake. This is the type of film that begs to be watched with a rowdy group with lots of beers. The laugh factor is high for something like that.
I remember when I was about 11 or 12 I used to see the VHS of this film at my local video rental store and the pictures on the back of it always freaked me out. Giant insects always got under my skin. Funny that it took me like 20 years to finally watch this one.
If this weren't R rated, then it would be a great film to show to the Summer Camp campers on movie night. Mosquitos are everywhere here. LOL.
Jurassic World has to be one of the most badly written movies I've seen in a long time. I was just flummoxed the entire time that a script so poor made it to production. It has all of the hallmarks of a script that went through countless revisions, focus group testing, producer notes, etc.
The kids were probably the worst part of it. The parents' divorce had absolutely NOTHING to do with ANYTHING. It carried zero theme through the narrative, and it didn't even really serve as a reason for them to be sent to an aunt they barely knew (whom the younger runs up and embraces even though by the dialogue she would have seen him last when he was like two) to an island near Costa Rica. We see that the older kid has a girlfriend that he won't say "I love you" to, but that also amounts to nothing. When they get to the island, he's checking out girls but that leads to absolutely nothing too. It felt like the writers couldn't contrive a reason for the kids to get to the island so they came up...really just some nonsense.
They're riding in the hamster ball and the younger one is saying "where are they, where are they!" literally as they ride out into a field full of dinosaurs.
The helicopter-flying owner somehow doesn't know that there is now only one Indominus Rex. Nobody bothered to tell him. Three weeks before the exhibit is supposed to open. And then he makes all of these "let's remember that these are animals with feelings" comments...while continuing to treat them and speak about them as though they are not.
Oh, and when we meet Claire, she's soliciting corporate sponsors for the I-Rex exhibit...again, three weeks before it is opening? That's WAY late, lady!
It's never really clear what the hell Chris Pratt is doing on the island. Is he some kind of handyman? Is he some kind of government operative? Is he a velociraptor whisperer?
The InGen bad guy was just laughable...that dude was just totally not taking his part seriously and it shows. "Allow me to deliver some exposition in this crisis moment..."
"She's a little shy"...and then we see the Mosasaur show up like ten times as a deus ex machina.
What was even the point of "Zara", the lady Claire dispatched to watch the kids? I can not for the life of me figure out why they bothered to write, cast, costume and give a call time to that actress.
The "friendly" velociraptors...oh come on...that "knowing" look between animal and trainer there toward the end. GROAN.
Oh, and the JP fanboy/nerd...what the hell was the deal with him out of nowhere trying to kiss that nerd girl he worked with? There was ZERO character development leading to that moment. It was just. dumb.
All the dinosaurs- which we are told repeatedly are animals- immediately turn into rampaging monsters whenever they're out of their paddocks/aviaries/whatever. None of those wonderful, peaceful moments like in the first film where we see them just being animals.
Yet I somehow didn't hate it and I watched it twice. The dinosaurs were fun to look at , at least. I-Rex was pretty cool and the fight with the T-Rex was pure 10 year old bliss. Bryce Howard got prettier the more disheveled she got.
Better than American Sniper and Birdman, by far.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Black Barney
Tomorrowland - Maybe it was the low expectations but I actually liked this movie. It definitely has flaws, but its also got a lot of cool retro sci-fi visuals and ideas. I like that its very optimistic in a Trek way and even points out the modern preference for more apocalyptic futures.
SebastianBludd wrote: My son said that The Thing was creepy and gross, but it didn't scare him. I believe him based on the lack of bedtime drama the night we watched it.
Finding horror films to watch with both of my sons - the younger one being 7 - is tricky, but so far this month we've watched The Monster Squad, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Abominable, Gremlins, and last night was Silver Bullet. I was surprised that one of the moments that scared my sons the most was when Corey Haim was stuck in the abandoned covered bridge and the priest followed him inside on foot.
I think they both like Gremlins well enough and none of us really liked The Monster Squad or Abominable. Abominable is basically Bigfoot meets Rear Window starring the guy who played Lloyd Braun on Seinfeld. I'd seen it once before and completely forgot that there was a short, surprise nude shower scene that my sons declared "gross," and a little more gore than I remembered. It wasn't really worth watching again and the movie is really hampered by the fact that Bigfoot looks too much like Jack Elam to be scary.
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